{"product_id":"50-american-plays-poems","title":"50 American Plays (Poems)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"Their verse . . . is strikingly different. Michael's poems are interior, fragmentary, and austere, often stripped down to single-word lines; they seethe with incipient violence. Matthew's are effusive, ecstatic, and all-embracing, spilling over with pop-cultural references and exuberant carnality.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIdentical twins Michael and Matthew Dickman once invented their own language. Now they have invented an exhilarating book of poem-plays about the fifty states. Pointed, comic, and surreal, these one-page vignettes feature unusual staging and an eclectic cast of characters--landforms, lobsters, and historical figures including Duke Ellington, Sacajawea, Judy Garland, and Kenneth Koch, the avant-garde spirit informing this book introduced by playwright John Guare.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Lucky in Kansas\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eJudy Garland: This is always the worst part\u003cbr\u003eTin Man: The coming back\u003cbr\u003eJudy Garland: Yes, it fucking sucks, it's depressing as shit\u003cbr\u003eThe Lion: Well, we're lucky to still be employed at this farm\u003cbr\u003eStraw Man: I wouldn't call it lucky\u003cbr\u003eThe Lion: We were lucky to get back\u003cbr\u003eStraw Man: That's not really lucky either I don't think you know what lucky means\u003cbr\u003eJudy Garland: It's funny what you miss\u003cbr\u003eTin Man: The running\u003cbr\u003eJudy Garland: The flying\u003cbr\u003eTin Man: The flying monkeys\u003cbr\u003eJudy Garland: The beautiful flying monkeys above the endless emeralds the unbelievably green world\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMichael Dickman\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eMatthew Dickman\u003c\/b\u003e are identical twins who were born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Michael received the 2010 James Laughlin Award for his second collection \u003ci\u003eFlies\u003c\/i\u003e (Copper Canyon Press, 2011). Matthew won the prestigious APR\/Honickman Award for his debut volume, \u003ci\u003eAll-American Poem\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Michael Dickman, Matthew Dickman","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44816588242986,"sku":"9781556593932","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/0891\/6522\/files\/imageloader_5755e0a0-b37a-4dc0-a6ee-9a047c107eb7.jpg?v=1788983129","url":"https:\/\/thepoetryshop.com\/products\/50-american-plays-poems","provider":"The Poetry Shop LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}